Görres was very interested in the way
the past is expressed. Retracing history shows the path of the God who
has already been perceived. The plenitude of cognition which becomes
manifest in culture, leads the focus
on the numinous. It gives orientation and strength for the establishment of the present. During his
phase of retirement he learned old
German and showed great interest in
music and literature. Since 1804 he
has been publishing essays about
mediaeval art in the Munich paper
«Aurora». Especially the German art
form Gothic awakened his interest.
Görres, the young husband, wrongly
has been perceived as a resigned,
nonpolitical man who escapes into
privacy and romanticism. In fact he
assumed the responsibility of a
head of a family and pursued an
academic career. He hoped that his
function as researcher and lecturer
gives an impetus for the rebirth
of the spiritual, which leads to
the evolution of political ideas.
That is why formation of character
and looking back on the Christian
heritage were crucial to Görres
all his life. It is not surprising that the completion of the
Cologne Cathedral became a special
concern to him. Görres was among
others a founder of the Central
Cathedral Construction Society
which was accepted by the Prussian
king Frederick William IV on the
30th November 1840. The society
brought up 90.000 to 170.000
thalers each year. 1880, 32 years
after Joseph Görres’ death, the
last stone on the southern tower
of the Cathedral was completed.